Name: The Spitfire.
Age: Born 1959.
Appearance: Well-put-together piece of kit.
I’m no expert, but I think you’ll find the Supermarine Spitfire aircraft dates to 1936. Sorry, I was only referring to the Mk IX variant.
The MK.IX was first developed in 1942. Yeah, this is the smaller version.
How much smaller? About 1/72nd of the original.
Do you mean the Airfix version? That’s the one – the deadly fighting machine that stood defiantly against Germany’s mighty Luftwaffe.
Well, sort of. It’s a model. The Mk IX model to be precise. An aviation classic.
It’s a scale model made of plastic, for kids to put together. Unlikely. It’s a plane “more than capable of challenging the Fw 190 and the latest “F” variant of the Messerschmitt Bf 109”.
What does that mean? It means it can beat the Germans at their own game. It’s all there in the product info.
More often than not, Airfix models were poorly constructed and covered in glue and wonky decals. Not this one. This one is “a beacon of hope for a nation and its people during their darkest hour”.
You probably don’t know about model building because no one does it any more. Apparently, the company’s sales rose by 40% during the first lockdown.
Really? I guess it’s possible that, under the threat of a pandemic, people grew nostalgic for the hobbies of their youth. At the same time, a new generation was discovering the joys of Airfix on TikTok. Then there are celebrity devotees, including James May and Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley.
It’s fair to say people of all ages and walks of life had time to kill, and idle hands. Perhaps they just find something deeply rewarding in constructing fighter aircraft.
Model aircraft. If you insist. But Airfix has once again started selling a larger version of the Spitfire Mk IXc – a kit not produced since the 1970s.
Is that right? Yes, and it’s also being manufactured in the UK for the first time since 1981. Large-scale defence construction is coming back to Britain. Can’t you just be happy about that?
How big is the large size? It’s 1:24, whatever that means.
That equates to a wingspan of about 47cm. So, manoeuvrable.
And how much does this fighter plane cost? £94.99.
It’s a toy. A big toy. When I get mine finished, you’ll be sorry.
Do say: “This legendary fighter is ready to dominate the skies once again.”
Don’t say: “Hang on, the wings are on upside down.”
